Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Americans poised to give power to the Party they hate

American voters who frequently complain about nothing getting
done in Washington now seem poised to give control of the U.S. Senate to
Republicans, guaranteeing that nothing will get done in Washington over the
next two years, at least.

Nine separate Election
Projection forecasts now show Republicans taking control of the Senate, winning
52 to 53 seats with 47 to 48 seats being held by Democrats and 3 Independents who
are likely to caucus with the Democrats.

These projections are in spite of the fact that in poll
after poll, Americans support the position of the Democratic Party over that of
the Republican Party on just about every public policy issue, often by
overwhelming majorities.

Global Warming: By a 58%-30% margin, Americans believe that
"the federal government should limit the release of greenhouse gases from
existing power plants."

EPA Carbon Rules: By a 67%-29% margin, Americans support the
EPA setting "strict carbon dioxide emission limits on existing coal-fired
power plants with a goal to reduce emissions significantly by the year
2030."

Clean Energy/Dirty Energy: By a 59%-31% margin, Americans
support "alternative energy" over "oil, gas and coal." By a
41%-31% margin, Americans believe we should put LESS emphasis on coal, compared
to 76%-10% who believe we should put MORE emphasis on solar and 71%-12% who say
we should put MORE emphasis on wind.

Gun Laws: By a 92%-7% margin, Americans support
"requiring background checks for all gun buyers." By a 54%-9% margin,
Americans believe that "laws covering the sale of guns should be made more
strict" as opposed to "less strict." By a 63%-34% margin, Americans OPPOSE more
"teachers and school officials having guns in schools." By a 54%-42%
margin, Americans support a "ban on assault-style weapons." Etc, etc.

Obamacare: 40% favor it and 17% oppose it because it's not
liberal enough, for a combined 57% who support Obamacare or want it to go
(much) further. Only 38% oppose it because it's "too liberal."

Same-Sex Marriage: By a 56%-38% margin, Americans support
"allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally."

Abortion: 40% say abortion should be legal
"always" or "in most circumstances," with another 38%
saying it should be legal in "a few circumstances." Just 20% say it
should be "always illegal."

Contraception: Americans overwhelmingly support
contraception access, including a 53%-41% margin saying that "employers
who object to birth control and other contraceptives on religious
grounds...should not be exempt from the requirement that their health plans
cover prescription birth control."

Immigration: Only 22% of Americans favor deportation of
"immigrants who are currently living in the U.S. illegally." In
contrast, 58% of Americans support "allow[ing] them a way to become
citizens provided they meet certain requirements." By a 65%-31% margin,
Americans support the bipartisan, comprehensive immigration bill passed by the
Senate and being held up by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives
that "allowed foreigners staying illegally in the United States the
opportunity to eventually become legal American citizens if they pay a fine,
any back taxes, pass a security background check, and take other required
steps."

Minimum Wage: By a 71%-28% margin, Americans overwhelmingly
support raising the minimum wage.

Social Security: By a 73%-21% margin, Americans "think
the benefits from Social Security are worth the cost of the program for
taxpayers." And by a 51%-37% margin, Americans OPPOSE "hanging the
way Social Security benefits are calculated so that benefits increase at a
slower rate than they do now."

Labor Unions: By a 54%-39% margin, Americans approve of
labor unions.

Campaign Financing: By huge margins, Americans support
" limiting the amount of money individuals can contribute to political
campaigns" (71%-25%), and limiting spending by "groups not affiliated
with a candidate" (76%-22%).

69 percent of Americans oppose any cuts to Social Security
or Medicare, even in order to cut the deficit, while only 23 percent support
such cuts.

Between 60 percent and 80 percent of Americans support increasing
taxes on the wealthy.

58 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, while
only 39 percent support continued criminalization.

62 percent of Americans support the Paycheck Fairness Act -
which seeks to close the gender-based wage gap - while only 29 percent of
Americans oppose the act.